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Coming Events and Activities

Workshops & Events for Students, Teachers, Alumni & SOE Faculty

Book Talk- "Defending Childhood:
Keeping the Promise of Early Education"

Thursday, September 27, 5:00 p.m.
Bank Street Bookstore

Professor Beverly Falk
Professor Beverly Falk

Professor Beverly Falk will be giving a book talk on her recent book- Defending Childhood: Keeping the Promise of Early Education (Teachers College Press, 2012) on Thursday, September 27 at 5pm at the Bank Street Bookstore (112th St. and Broadway). Professor Falk will share ideas from the book, which brings together a cross-disciplinary group of educators and scholars who offer important insights about what we can do to defend childhood from societal challenges. She will explain new findings from neuroscience and psychology, as well as emerging knowledge about the impact on child development of cultural and linguistic diversity, poverty, families and communities, and the media. Experiences and suggestions will be offered, from the perspectives of different disciplines, about what can be done to ensure that all children gain access to the supports they need for optimal physical, social, intellectual, and emotional development.


Workshop/Demonstration in Teaching With Socratic Seminars

Tuesday, October 2nd, 10:00 am- Noon, NAC 4/220B

NY Times

How do classrooms sound when students are engaged in rigorous and meaningful dialogue? Socratic Seminars are based on the premise that all students are capable of serious discourse and eager to participate in it. This workshop will focus on the processes used when doing Socratic Seminars and on the differences between debate, discussion, and dialogue. Participants will learn how to ask questions that are aimed at promoting a balanced and open-minded consideration of ideas. They will recognize how active listening, respect for all opinions, and other pro-social skills can be taught through Socratic Seminars.

Ms. Nancy Letts
Nancy Letts

During this workshop Ms. Nancy Letts, a nationally known expert on Socratic Seminars, will work with Professor Catherine Franklin's Inquiry class to demonstrate these processes. Participation in this workshop will provide School of Education faculty members with many of the skills they will need to do Socratic Seminars around education topics they presently teach as well as the skills their students will need to conduct Socratic seminars with their K-12 students. In addition, School of Education faculty will identify indicators of successful practice and plan for ways to incorporate seminars into their present curriculum. Although this event is primarily for SOE faculty, all students and alumni are welcome to attend.

About Nancy Letts: Nancy Letts consults with school districts, professional organizations and public sector agencies throughout the United States, Asia, and Australia. She received an M.A. degree in Integrated Mathematics and Science from Long Island University. Her areas of focus include educational equity around issues of gender, race, and socioeconomic class; Socratic Seminar training; school based management; and effective group dynamics. We anticipate making a video of this session. If so, we will ask those not willing to be filmed to sit in a certain section of the audience.


Book Talk Series Event Schedule

City College, Center for Worker Education
25 Broadway 7th Floor- Auditorium
(All events are from 6-8:00 pm)

The series explores the context of childhood including the institutions, policies, social and educational settings most important to the healthy development of young children. Authors presenting in this series include academics in the areas of architecture, education, policy studies and psychology. The series is open to all CUNY students, faculty and staff as well as anyone interested in the study of childhood. Lectures will take place on select Tuesdays (6-8pm) throughout the fall term. To learn more about the series and to register, please go to : http://www.thechildbooktalk.wordpress.com. You can RSVP for your class (just indicate the number) right on the website. Following the lecture, you (or your students, colleagues) can post comments on this site and discuss the lectures further. Be sure to follow the series on Twitter! @childbooktalk.com. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me @ ematthews@ccny.cuny.edu. See the event Schedule for October through December below:

October, 2nd 2012
Peter Lippman
Evidence Based Design of Elementary and Secondary Schools: A Responsive Approach to Creating Learning Environments (Click here to RSVP)

October 16th 2012
Carrie Lobman
Play and Performances (Click here to RSVP)

November 6th 2012
Marta Gutman
Designing Modern Childhoods: History, Space and Material Culture (Click here to RSVP)

December 4th, 2012
Marcy Whitebook (Click here to RSVP)


Using SmartBoards in the Classroom

Doris Grasserbauer
Doris Grasserbauer

This hands-on workshop is for School of Education students, faculty, alumni and cooperating teachers. The workshops are structured around the experience level and the specific subject matter taught by the participants. For entry level, we will start with the basics and then dive into the interactive classroom possibilities depending on the needs and interests of the participants. During the advanced workshop you will work with the instructor to create your own classroom material. No matter what your level of experience, you will get a chance to use the SmartBoard.

You are welcome to attend more than one workshop.

Dates:

  • September 25, 2012 - 4 to 5pm - NA 4/221 - Entry Level
  • October 23, 2012 - 4 to 5pm - NA 4/221 - Advanced
  • November 27, 2012 - 4 to 5pm - NA 4/221 - Entry Level
  • December 18, 2012 - 4 to 5pm - NA 4/221 - Advanced

Click here to register for one of the workshops:

If a workshop has to be canceled you will be contacted via email. Assume your registration is confirmed unless you hear otherwise. Please note the session(s) you sign up for as reminders will not be sent out.


Library Hour for SOE Students & Faculty

Thursdays 5:00-6:00 pm
NAC 2/204 (2nd floor of Cohen Library)

Jacqueline Gill
Jacqueline Gill

The SOE Library hour this spring is being held every Thursday from 5 to 6pm in NAC 2/204 (2nd floor of Cohen Library). You do not have to make arrangements, just drop in.

During that hour the Information Literacy Coordinator Professor Jacqueline A. Gill will be available for faculty, staff and students to answer questions about the library and research within the library resources. Should you not be able to come during that hour, Professor Gill is also available via blog at http://soelibraryhour.wordpress.com/, via email at jgill@ccny.cuny.edu and via phone at 212-650-6089.

Faculty can discuss and arrange library visits and workshops. Professor Gill can be invited to education classes to introduce herself and provide an overview of how the library can help students meet their research needs. Furthermore she conducts workshops each semester to introduce faculty and staff to the Library resources


For Other Events At CCNY See: http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/current/events/index.cfm

For Directions to the Campus See: http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/about/directions.cfm


News & Notes


Student News & Notes


Ms. Naomi Harper

Ms. Naomi Harper, a graduate student in Bilingual Education, has become a "NEW YORK LIFE GRADUATE SCHOLAR, 2012-2013" and a Colin Powell fellowship at the Colin Powell Center for Leadership and Service. The fellowship provides $15,000 for the year. Each year the Center selects five graduate students to participate in the Colin Powell Program for a one-year period. Graduate students are encouraged to explore ways in which their developing academic expertise can be used to address urgent public problems in underserved communities. Fellows take part in weekly seminars that meet regularly throughout the year. They also take part in special events and have opportunities to hear from distinguished public figures. Ms. Harper adds that "In the second semester of the fellowship I will be conducting research on some aspect of bilingual education policy." Ms Harper is currently pursuing a master's degree and teaching certification in bilingual education. She graduated in 2008 from Middlebury College, where she studied Spanish, English, and anthropology. In the years between, she lived and taught in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Philadelphia.


Ms. Simone Gordon Ms. Simone Gordon (left) received the Lucy Gordon Education Alumni Scholarship - this award, in the amount of $1,000, is presented to an undergraduate student for academic excellence. (Photo: Olga Mikhlina)


Ms. Freeha Khan Ms. Freeha Khan (right) received the The Education Alumni Group Scholarship - this award, in the amount of $1,000, is presented to an undergraduate student for academic excellence. (Photo: Olga Mikhlina))


Teachers of Tomorrow Club Visits Colonial Williamsberg

Teachers of Tomorrow

Our April spring break trip to Colonial Williamsburg was most successful. We took a coach bus that left City College at 4 a.m. and arrived at the Visitors Center hotel in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia around 10 a.m. to have breakfast and embark on a four hour tour of Downtown. Our club was taken around the different houses and buildings that have changed little since the 1700s. We learned about blacksmiths, wig parlors, and how pharmacies prescribed different medicines. For dinner we indulged in the most famous seafood buffet VA has to offer and by evening, we entered one of the most haunted houses in Colonial VA and were told the ghost stories that occurred in that house. The next day was a 'free day' where members were allowed three hours to tour whatever they wished. We arrived back at City College around 9 pm the same day.

The purpose of our club is to inform and advise all the education majors attending City College. We do several fundraisers throughout the fall and spring semesters to raise money for our spring break trip. We meet most Thursdays during club hours (12-2pm) in room 3/226 in the NAC building. All are invited to join our club. See the Teachers of Tomorrow's fall schedule of meetings below.

Teachers of Tomorrow

Ms. Kristyne Melon


Teachers of Tomorrow Fall 2012 Schedule

All meeting are on Thursdays from 12:30- 2:00 (Except on 9/13).
General meetings will be in the NAC 3/225

September 27th Fundraiser (NAC Rotunda)
October 4th General meeting 12:30pm
October 11th General Meeting 12:30pm
October 18th Fundraiser (NAC Rotunda)
October 25th General meeting 12:30pm
November 1st Fundraiser (NAC Rotunda)
November 8th General Meeting 12:30pm
November 15th Fundraiser (NAC Rotunda)
December 6th Christmas Party

Contact tot@ccny.cuny.edu for further information.


Faculty News & Notes


Professor Lynn Tarlow
Professor Lynn Tarlow

Professor Lynn Tarlow presented a paper in June entitled "Assessing change in facilitating mathematizing: Results of a successful teacher development program" at the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI) 2012 National Conference in Alexandria, VA. The Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI) is the largest national initiative devoted to producing more and better-prepared new science and mathematics teachers. The SMTI 2012 National Conference provides an opportunity for faculty from science, mathematics and education disciplines to share their successful programs or strategies … [and] create a community that crosses traditional boundaries, advances science and mathematics teaching and teacher preparation, and helps frame the national discussion on teacher preparation. Read the abstract


Professor Hope Hartman
Professor Hope Hartman

Professor Hope Hartman made three presentations at the Peer- Led Team Learning (PLTL) Institute, at City College in July. She presented on "Peer Leader Skills", "Collaborative Learning for PLTL" and "Cognitive Science and PLTL". In addition, she is working with Professor Ellen Smiley and Sarah Van Arsdale to develop metacognition and critical thinking modules for the CUNY Online BA Program that will be piloted this Fall.


Professor Joseph Davis
Professor Joseph Davis
Professor Nancy Stern
Professor Nancy Stern

Professors Joseph Davis and Nancy Stern were invited to participate in a linguistics institute at the University of Copenhagen in June, along with two other U.S. linguists. Professors Davis and Stern conducted a master class with doctoral students at the university, and also gave presentations at sessions attended by Scandinavian linguists.


Professor Yvel C. Crevecoeur
Professor Yvel C. Crevecoeur

Professor Yvel C. Crevecoeur of the Department of Leadership & Special Education was awarded an in-residence, leadership research fellowship in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) on January 27, 2012. This research fellowship is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs and is administered by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST; an educational research and development organization in Wakefield, MA) and Boston College's Lynch School of Education (Chestnut Hill, MA). From September 2012 through August 2013, Professor Crevecoeur will primarily collaborate with research scientists, policy experts, and education stakeholders from CAST and faculty members at Boston College on • Teacher preparation and professional development; • Policy development at national, state, and local levels; • Curriculum and instructional practices; and • Formative and summative assessment systems.

The Office of the Provost awarded a technology grant to Professor Crevecoeur, for his proposal entitled "Project TeleCOURSE", one of only four such grants awarded by the College, "to promote sustainable improvement in learning and student success through innovative use of technology." Work for Project TeleCOURSE has begun and will result in redesigned courses in hybrid and full-online formats by Fall 2013 - Spring 2014. Read more.

Recently, Professor Crevecoeur received the CUNY Scholar Incentive Award. Professor Crevecoeur's leave begins August 27, 2012 and his official return date is August 27, 2013. The Scholar Incentive Award coincides with the award of the research fellowship in UDL at CAST and Boston College.

On July 19, 2012, Professor Crevecoeur presented, "A Continuum of Learners: Assistive Technologies and Universal Design," for undergraduate, master's, and Ph.D. level students and faculty in computer science, engineering, and psychology. Audience members also included high school students with visual impairments and their high school teacher. Read more

On April 18, 2012, Professor Crevecoeur was a guest lecturer in Professor R. L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy's Sociology/Public Management master's level course, entitled, "Race, Schools, and Policy." Read more.

Finally, he managed to run his first half- marathon in June and is scheduled to run military-style obstacle course races in September and October 2012. He is considering running one or two marathons in the future.


 

Beverly Falk
Professor Beverly Falk
Professor Megan Blumenreich
Professor Megan Blumenreich

Professors Beverly Falk and Megan Blumenreich presented a paper entitled "Inside Urban Teaching" at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Vancouver BC. In August, Professor Falk had a new book, co-authored with Prof. Megan Blumenreich, released from The New Press titled "Teaching Matters: Stories from Inside City Schools".

Professor Falk also organized and led a symposium titled: "Defending Childhood: Toward a Broader View of Early Education" based on her edited book Defending Childhood (Teachers College Press, 2012) with interdisciplinary scholars from around the country. In early May, Professor Falk appeared with Professor Bill Crain from Psychology on the CUNY TV program "EdCast". The program was about the "Defending Childhood." conference they convened in March and featured an interview with them along with video footage of the Bronx Community Charter School, a child-centered elementary school in District 10.

Finally, Professor Falk will be working this academic year as a Senior Scholar and Consultant for the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) to help support the New York State performance assessment initiative to be used for teacher certification.


Interview with Professor Festus Obiakor
Chair, Department of Leadership and Special Education

Professor Festus Obiakor
Professor Festus Obiakor

It isn't often that one gets to have a discussion with a person whose curriculum vitae is more than 100 pages. Professor Festus Obiakor, who recently came to the School of Education and who now serves as the Chair of the Department of Leadership and Special Education has such a resume; and it reflects his scholarship in a number of different areas during a career that has spanned more than thirty years at several other institutions climbing the career ladder. His last position before coming to City College was as Graduate Program Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.

First impressions revealed a delightful person who, though playful and outgoing, was quite serious about and dedicated to the work he is doing in education, and particularly his work in Special Education, his primary field. The Department he Chairs is comprised of three programs; Special Education, Leadership (Administration & Supervision), and Educational Foundations.

Professor Obiakor's career began in Nigeria, where he was born. He received his B.A./NCE in Secondary Ed -English and Economics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria 1976, and continues to have a deep interest in his home country as well as in multiculturism and in international education. He received an M.Ed. in Special Education from Texas Christian University ('81) and an M.A. in Psychology and Ph.D. ('86) in Special Education from New Mexico State University. His doctoral dissertation was entitled "The Development of Self-Concept in Normally Sighted and Visually Impaired Students". He has extensive experience teaching at several universities as well as extensive experience as an administrator.

One of Professor Obiakor's major concerns centers around the self-concept of students in special education, and particularly of African American students who are too often categorized and shunted into special education programs and too seldom placed in programs for the gifted. He believes that it is important for the teachers we educate to understand how being in special education can damage a student's self-concept and how teachers can mitigate and/or reverse that damage. This is critical in not only preparing special education teachers and also important in preparing all of our teachers and school leaders.

He goes on to say he is an educator who is mostly not a behaviorist and sees himself more in the cognitive, humanistic, and John Dewey schools of thought. He sees his work primarily, but not exclusively, in special education and in the reform of special education. In addition to self-concept he mentioned five other specific areas of interest which have framed most of his research and prior publications: 1) Multicultural Psychology and Special Education, 2) African American and Urban Learners, 3) Crisis Intervention/Behavior Management, 4) Educational Reform/Program Evaluation and 5) Comparative/International Education. Especially interesting is that in addition to his writing in the above areas, Professor Obiakor has published a book of proverbs and three books of poems; and while we were sitting and talking he made up a poem on the spot. Ever the educator, when I left him he was on the phone with his daughter discussing some problem she was having in school.

It should also be mentioned that when asked what goals he had for his department, I didn't expect him to have much to say since he has been Chair for but one semester. Yet he pulled out a sheet with about 30 discrete items that he had set as specific goals for his department- a good sign for a promising new chair.

Norman Shapiro, editor

 

Two New Faculty Appointments

Dr. Terri Watson
Dr. Terri Watson

The Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education welcomes Dr. Terri Watson to the faculty. Dr. Watson has her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida. Her research interests are Critical Race Theory in relation to Educational Policy and Teacher Education and The Role of Leadership in Narrowing the Achievement Gaps of At-risk Learners.

 

Dr. Dina López
Dr. Dina López

Dr. Dina López was appointed to the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture. She was born in Guatemala and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. After receiving her BA in Community Health from Brown University, she worked with community-based organizations in Providence around issues of adult literacy, language education, and immigrant rights. Dr. López moved to the New York area to pursue an MS in Adult Education (with a focus on literacy) at Fordham University. She recently received her Doctorate of Education in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her dissertation research was an ethnographic study of an English Literacy and Civics Education program in New York City-examining how federal policy was enacted by local policy actors. Her research is located at the intersection of socio-cultural approaches to language and literacy, the anthropology of education, and immigration and education. Through her work, she examines the situated nature of educational practices, particularly as they relate to processes of social identification and student agency. Her research is motivated by a desire to understand how language learners are positioned and position themselves in school and community discourses-attending to how global and transnational processes are manifested at the local level.


Alumni News & Notes


Ed Alumni Group Dinner May 3nd an Outstanding Success

The May 2nd , 2012 CCNY Education Alumni Group's Annual Awards Reception and Cocktail Party for Outstanding Teachers and Administrators was held at the fabulous National Arts Club in New York City. Dr. Joyce Coppin, Ed Alumni President, served as master of ceremonies. Congratulations to the 2012 award recipients pictured below with Dr. Joyce Coppin, President Education Alumni.

Education Alumni Group Photo
Education Alumni Annual Awards Ceremony and Reception - May 2, 2012. Standing left to right: Honorees Franklin Encarnacion '94, Lauren Ginsberg DeVilbiss '05MS, '11MS, Dr. Bernadette Drysdale '87, Dr. Norman Shapiro. Seated left to right: Honorees Dr. Jane Katz '63E, Pamela Scott '05MSE, Wanda I. Soto '97MS, Ed Alumni President Dr. Joyce Coppin '58E Not pictured: Honoree Emily Jarrell '11MSEd. -photo: Olga Mikhalena.

 


Note from Dr. Bruce Billig: Ed Alumni and students please keep these dates free:

November 13th, Principals Panel, 4:30 - 7:00 PM
December 12th, Principals Breakfast, 9:00 - 10:30 AM
March 21st, Principals Panel, 4:30 - 7:00 PM
May 2nd, Awards Reception.

If you know a highly effective teacher or administrator who is a CCNY Alum, consider nominating him/her for our 2013 CCNY EDUCATION ALUMNI GROUP'S OUTSTANDING TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR AWARDS contact Dr. Bruce M. Billig (bbillig@ccny.cuny.edu) and he will send you an application as soon as it becomes available.


Past Events of Note


Why Linguistics Matters in Urban Education

Professor Emeritus Wallis Reid and Professor Joseph Davis
Prof. Emeritus Wallis Reid (left)
Professor Joseph Davis (right)

On April 18, Professor Emeritus Wallis Reid, at the Graduate School of Education of Rutgers University, gave a seminar titled "Why Linguistics Matters in Urban Education," an event co-sponsored by the Offices of the President and Provost at City College. Attendees included School of Education faculty and graduate students, other CCNY faculty, and linguists as well as public school educators from the community. The occasion for the seminar was the publication (Brill, 2012) of the volume Language: Communication and Human Behavior. The Linguistic Essays of William Diver, edited by Alan Huffman (CUNY) and Joseph Davis (CCNY SOE). Professor Reid showed how some linguistic insights of Diver's bear upon issues that confront teachers of language in a diverse environment, particularly the problem of correctly identifying the gap between what a learner knows and what the grammatical target is.


The Educational Theatre Program

Theatre Education

This summer those graduate candidates who were enrolled in EDCE 4600C "Developing and Facilitating Drama and Dramatic Activities in Non Traditional Settings" did some amazing work with seniors at Manhattanville Senior Center on 133rd Street in Harlem. During class time graduate students worked closely with their instructor, Ms. Sobha Kavanakudiyil, to focus in on learning about using theatre in non-traditional settings such as senior centers, residents at a homeless shelter, camps, after school programs, hospitals, and juvenile facilities. Graduate candidates used a technique called Reminiscence Theatre and Process Drama to devise theatre with seniors from the center. The attached photo is of a re-creation of a dance at one of the many dance halls in Harlem that these seniors fondly remembered.

This coming Fall, The Ed Theatre Program will be working at nearby PS 161. Under the leadership of Jennifer Katona, The Fundamentals of Teaching Theatre class (EDCE 3700) will create a special after school program where our graduate students will be working with pupils to put on the Disney's play The Jungle Book. A school performance for PS 161 pupils will be held in December and an evening performance will be open to the public. Stay tuned…

And, if you haven't seen it yet, take a look at this charming video the Ed Theatre Program created by clicking on: http://www.youtube.com/v/A3VvkYozV-s.


Websites of Interest

Note: If you are new to CONNECTED you can go to previous issues at and find additional recommended websites beginning with the May, 2010 issue, when we first started including them. But don't just skim these sites, put them on your browser's favorites list so that you can refer to them from time to time. You'll find the archived issues of CONNENCTED at http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/education/community/index.cfm


  1. Professor Lisa Simon and the graduate students in the Literacy Program's practicum course are launching a monthly newsletter: City Readers & Writers. The newsletter, which is for families, kids, teens, and teachers, was created to celebrate and support city readers and writers. Each issue focuses on a specific aspect of reading and/or writing and includes literacy games, activities, resources, and recommendations relevant to that focus. October's issue focuses on the powerful connection between individuals' interests and literacy growth. You can access an online version of the newsletter here: http://issuu.com/controlfree/docs/cityreaders-writers-oct . You can also access it at the Literacy Afterschool Program's website: https://sites.google.com/a/ccny.cuny.edu/tlp-afterschool-program/Home. Please feel free to share the newsletter - either by printing up copies for your kids to take home to their parents or by e-mailing it to parents who have and use e-mail. And, if you have questions, suggestions, or comments to the editors, Simon and her student editors encourage you to write them at cityreaderswriters@gmail.com.
  2. We've introduced readers to www.ted.com once before. It consists of accomplished people from many varied fields describing "ideas worth sharing". Even for non-scientists, Professor Bonnie Bassler's discussion of how bacteria communicate with one another is fascinating. Her presentation is at http://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_on_how_bacteria_communicate.html It is both clear, comprehensible and under 20 minutes. Her discovery "shows how bacteria use chemical powwows to stage attacks, evade immune systems and forge slimy defenses called biofilms. For that, she's won a MacArthur "genius" grant -- and is giving hope…for developing new weapons against drug-resistant superbugs". Use www.ted.com to search for other short presentations in education and other areas of interest to you.
  3. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/technology-in-the-classroom?fd=1 will give you a nice intro to the Teaching Channel and is a video of a 6th grade teacher incorporating technology into her teaching. Explore the site and find resources you can use in your classroom. "The Teaching Channel is a video showcase-on the Internet and TV-of inspiring and effective teaching practices in America's schools. They have a rapidly growing community of more than 35,000 registered members who trade ideas and share inspiration from each other". This is another site worth a good long look- even by experienced teachers.
  4. www.ehow.com - is a portal that sends you to other sites -some of which you may find useful. Search under such things as "teaching"," teaching resources"," k-12 teaching"," teaching jobs", "science teaching", etc.
  5. http://schools.nyc.gov is the New York City Department of Education's web site that merits exploration. Hunt through this site and find information on all subjects taught (e.g., for science: Core curriculum science materials, aligned by grade level and unit of study (PDF), NYC Scope and Sequence for Science, for Grades K-8 and High School Science Regents, New York City Performance Standards, New York State Science Core Curricula , Sample test questions, and other relevant resources and all sorts of other information.
  6. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/ Kathy Schrock's portal was one of the first comprehensive resource sites on the Internet and it remains one of the best for finding teacher resources of all kinds. Mine this for what you need in your moments of leisure.

Articles of Interest

This section provides links to articles of general interest and importance in education. Keeping in mind how busy our readers are, most of the articles selected are from one to three pages.


  1. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/08/37massell.h31.html "Mass. Moves on ELL-Training for Regular Teachers" by Ms. Lisa Maxwell for Education Week. Read about the State's effort to better serve ELL students at all grade levels in the core areas of mathematics, English/language arts, social studies, and science …by taking a three-credit course that has been developed by language-acquisition experts. The course is being tested with a small number of teachers in the Springfield district this summer and will be piloted in a handful of other districts in the fall.
  2. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/08/13/essay-argues-real-teacher-education-reform-going-led-profession Professor Linda Darling-Hammond's recent article on teacher education reform, published in Inside Higher Education, focuses on the strengths of edTPA as a valid accountability tool and agent of professionally-led reform. edTPA is a new performance assessment process that examines - through candidates' plans, videotapes of instruction, evidence of student work and learning, and commentary - whether prospective teachers are ready to teach. Read more.
  3. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/us-education-vouchers-idUSBRE8501G020120601 Louisiana makes a major move to vouchers for children to attend one of 120 private schools. "The following year, students of any income will be eligible for mini-vouchers that they can use to pay a range of private-sector vendors for classes and apprenticeships not offered in traditional public schools. The money can go to industry trade groups, businesses, online schools and tutors, among others. Every time a student receives a voucher of either type, his local public school will lose a hunk of state funding". Reuters
  4. http://tinyurl.com/9yc6h6m "Promotion in New York City School Eased for Some" by Lisa Fleisher. In 2004, "Mayor Michael Bloomberg fired two of his appointees to the city's education policy panel after they threatened to vote against a proposal to hold back students who didn't pass state tests. Now, the Department of Education is conceding the policy doesn't work for everyone. The department on Friday notified principals that third- through eighth-graders could soon be promoted to the next grade even if they fail a state test. The policy would apply to students in danger of repeating a grade more than once, or for those more than two years too old for their grade. -The Wall Street Journal New York Schools".
  5. Three articles related to evaluating teachers with student test scores and publicly shaming them. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/opinion/for-teachers-shame-is-no-solution.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss and http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/nyregion/teacher-ratings-produce-a-rallying-cry-for-the-union.html?partner=rss&emc=rss and http://tinyurl.com/743epbs
  6. http://horacemannleague.blogspot.com/2012/02/ever-increasing-burden-on-americas.html Take a look at what we have added to the school curriculum since 1900 without, the author claims, adding one minute to instructional time. How can we expect teachers to do all this as well? Maybe with the help of technology we can transfer some of these tasks back to parents. Horace Mann League.
  7. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/01/19/performance-assessment-making-a-comeback-in-schools/ by Mr. Dennis Pierce, editor, eSchool News. Essential Schools (founded by Theodore Sizer) require students to "exhibit" their learning. Performance Assessment through "Exhibtions" may well be a better method of assessing (and motivating) students.
  8. http://ajr.org/Article.asp?id=5280 "The American education system has never been better, several important measures show. But you'd never know that from reading overheated media reports about "failing" schools and enthusiastic pieces on unproven "reform" efforts". This interesting article by Mr. Paul Farhi in The American Journalism Review asks whether the nation's schools have gotten noticeably worse, or media coverage has made it seem that way.
  9. http://www.rethinkingschools.org//cmshandler.asp?archive/26_03/26_03_dandrea.shtml In an open letter in Rethinking Schools to her 8th grade students, Ms. Ruth Ann Dandrea apologizes for subjecting them to a standardized test (New York English Regents) that she deems "criminal" for its scoring system.
  10. http://tinyurl.com/8pho9yl in her article "21st-Century Students Need Books, Not Textbooks", Ms. Colette Marie Bennett, an English Department Chair with many years of 6-12 teaching experience not only argues against textbooks, saying students need to enhance their reading through books that will interest them, but also provides many web resources for the secondary English teachers. Education Week Teacher.
  11. http://tinyurl.com/8s8hewuu Mr. Larry Ferlazzo is an award-winning English and Social Studies teacher at Luther Burbank High School in California. Here are his ten most popular posts of the year. They range from 'motivating the unmotivated' to 'differentiating instruction' to 'teaching social studies more effectively'. Education Week Teacher.
  12. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/06/05/tackling-school-bullying/ It is estimated that "In America alone, approximately 160,000 children miss school every day owing to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Bullying will be this generation's greatest social problem if we don't recognize its complexity and create systems to address its impact. In this latest STAR (School Technology Action Report), "Tackling School Bullying: What you need to know about bullying and cyber bullying legislation, prevention, and best practices," the editors of eSchool Media Inc.-with support from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt-highlight what every school needs to know about the current legal issues surrounding, and how schools are managing, bullying and cyber bullying, and how communities and companies can help combat this growing epidemic. A PDF of the full 92 page report can be accessed at http://www.eschoolnews.com/files/2012/06/STARBullyingHMH0604.pdf
  13. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/07/31/new-high-school-is-latest-to-focus-on-project-based-learning/ New high school is latest to focus on project-based learning. "If project-based learning is done well, it can increase test scores by up to 40 percent. If implemented poorly, however, test scores can drop by as much as 17 percent, research has found. At the newest high school in Plano, Texas, a lesson on Hurricane Katrina could look a lot like this: Students would study the science of weather patterns, review the historical impact of the 2005 natural disaster, and read personal stories from those affected. Then, in teams, they would research and develop a plan for federal authorities on how to respond to a similar act of nature". eSchool News.

Notices


From Dr.Bruce Billig, Director Office of Field Experiences:
Job Openings: To our current student teachers, recent graduates, college supervisors and various SoE faculty and staff: You can obtain free, personalized education (as well as other areas) job alerts delivered to your email inbox from "Simply Hired". Subscribe by going to: http://www.simplyhired.com/a job-alerts/home .

For example, I recently received an email with 20 job openings at the Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy for positions in Elementary, Science, Social Studies, Math, English, Language and Special Ed. They are asking for at least two years experience, however you should review the duties, responsibilities and qualifications for the various positions.


CONNECTED Committee: Bruce Billig, Doris Grasserbauer, Leonard Lewis, Stacia Pusey, Lisa Yu and Norman Shapiro, editor.
Web site and graphics by Kurt Brown.


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